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The square dance
was designated as the official American
Folk Dance of New Jersey in 1983. |
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Michael McCarthy and his fifth
grade class at Our Lady of Victories School in
Harrington Park and James Sweetman, an eighth
grader from Freehold, helped make the horse
the official state Animal in
1977. A horse's head is included on the state
seal because of the importance of the horse to
early agriculture. Horses continue to be popular
in New Jersey, as is horse racing. |
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The official state Bird
is the eastern goldfinch,
a bird with bright yellow feathers and a black
head and wings. |
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The official state Bug
is the honeybee,
which pollinates many flowers, including the
violet, the official state flower. |
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In the summer and fall of
1858, fossil hobbyist William Parker Foulke
uncovered the bones of an animal larger than an
elephant with structural features of both a
lizard and a bird. Now known as Hadrosaurus
foulkii, it is the official state Dinosaur. |
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The official state Fish
is the brook trout, a
native of New Jersey. This fish is important
because it can only survive in clean water,
meaning that wherever brook trout are found you
can be assured that the water is good quality. |
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The New Jersey State Flag
was adopted in 1896. The colors of the flag, buff
and dark blue, were the colors George Washington
chose for the flag of New Jersey's army regiments
during the Revolutionary War. |
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The official Flower
of New Jersey is the violet,
which can be found in fields, lawns, and meadows
across the state. |
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Elizabeth Coleman White
developed the nations's first blueberry
in Whitesbog. In 2003, fourth graders at
Veterans' Memorial Elementary School in Brick
campaigned to make the blueberry the official
state Fruit. Their campaign
included lobbying members of the state
legislature, media interviews, a letter and
petition drive, and presentations before Senate
and Assembly Committees. Their efforts were
officially realized in 2004. |
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The Great Seal
of the State of New Jersey was designed by Pierre
Eugene du Simitiere, and presented to the New
Jersey Legislature in 1777. The three plows in
the shield honor the state's agricultural
tradition. The helmet above the shield faces
forward, an attitude denoting sovereignty, in
honor of New Jersey having one of the first
governments created under the notion that the
state itself is the sovereign. The crest above
the helmet is a horse's head. The supporting
female figures are Liberty, carrying the liberty
cap on her staff, and Ceres, who holds a
cornucopia filled with harvested produce. |
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The official state Shell
is the knobbed whelk,
which can be found along most New Jersey beaches
and bays. The large marine snail that lives in
the shell is harvested and canned for food. |
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The A.J. Meerwald
is a Delaware Bay Oyster Schooner. It was built
in Dorcester, New Jersey, in 1928, to meet the
needs of New Jersey's oyster industry, and is now
the official state Ship. |
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The official state Tree
is the red oak, a
hardwood tree that has pointy-lobed leaves with
prickly tips and which produces many acorns. |
